Dodgers great Sandy Koufax joins team in advisory role

The greatest pitcher in franchise history has been appointed a special adviser to Dodgers chairman Mark Walter, the team announced Tuesday.

Koufax will attend a portion of spring training to work with Dodgers pitchers and consult with the team throughout the year.

"I'm delighted to be back with the Dodgers," Koufax said in a statement released by the team. "I'm looking forward to spending time with the team during spring training and to contributing in any way I can to help make the team a success for the fans of Los Angeles.

"Some of my most cherished memories came at Dodger Stadium."

Koufax generally has shied from the public arena since his retirement, and aside from his spring training appearances the new job largely will keep the 77-year-old out of the spotlight. His resume includes work as a broadcaster for NBC from 1967-73 and a minor-league pitching coach for the Dodgers from 1979-90.

Team president Stan Kasten said Koufax's role will define itself in time, much like advisory roles held by Tommy Lasorda and Don Newcombe.

"We let them develop in a way that's comfortable for them," Kasten said. "Any contribution we can get from his will be valuable."

Koufax, who lives on the East Coast, was a fixture at Dodgertown in Vero Beach, Fla., for decades. He's included Camelback Ranch in Glendale, Ariz., on his tour of Cactus League stops in recent years, at times giving informal instruction to Dodgers pitchers.

"For our young players and our veterans to be able to tap Sandy's expertise and counsel during spring training and throughout the season will provide yet another tremendous resource in our efforts to strengthen our club," general manager Ned Colletti said in a statement.

Koufax spent his entire 12-year major-league career with the Dodgers. He won three Cy Young awards and was MVP in 1963 and '65. He was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1971, his first year of eligibility, at the record age of 36.

He was a member of Dodgers world championship teams in 1955, '59, '63 and '65 and his postseason record was 4-3 with a 0.95 ERA. He was selected to seven All-Star Games from 1961-66.

From 1962-66, Koufax led the National League in earned-run average and shutouts. He was the first pitcher to average fewer than seven hits allowed per nine innings pitched in his career (6.79) and to strike out more than nine batters (9.28) per nine innings. In his last 10 seasons, batters hit .203 against him with a .271 on-base percentage and a .315 slugging average.

"He's going to be able to share some of his philosophies and expertise and experience with our players," Kasten said, "and he'll just be able to advise all of us on matters that relate to baseball while keeping the Dodgers perspective in mind."

Koufax famously severed ties with the team in 2003 after a gossip item in the New York Post insinuated he was gay. At the time, the Post and the Dodgers were owned by News Corp. When the team was sold to Frank McCourt in 2004, Koufax made amends and has been a familiar sight in spring training since.

"I don't know what happened in the past," Kasten said. "He's been very supportive of us, very nice to us. Our conversations have been good.

"He seemed quite open to this."

Will Koufax be open to learning Korean so he can speak with new left-hander Hyun-Jin Ryu?

"I don't know," Kasten said, "but this will be a culture test to see if Hyun-Jin has heard of Sandy."